The Elite's Sour Side

Now that the news about Microsoft's Elite has had a chance to set in, there are a few objections being raised by commentators. That 120 gig hard drive (the really expensive one) is going to come pre-loaded with content; all well and good, but the content transfer cable and software is a bit odd. Additionally, there are serious objections being raised over the frustrations of early adopters. Despite the easy dismissal out of hand heard on Major Nelson's Wednesday podcast, it's not as easy for early 360 buyers to roll with the changes. "Current Xbox 360 owners, who can purchase a separate 120-gigabyte hard drive at a cost of $179, appear to be getting a raw deal. Not only are these early adopters stuck with an older model of the console that offers less in the way of high-definition support, but factor in the cost of a current premium Xbox 360 ($399) and the price of the larger hard drive and the figure is close to $600 dollars, far exceeding the Elite's retail price, due to be $479."

Comments

ok, so...

[User 956]

Current Xbox 360 owners, who can purchase a separate 120-gigabyte hard drive at a cost of $179, appear to be getting a raw deal. Not only are these early adopters stuck with an older model of the console

So do the same complaints apply to Apple, when they release a new revision of the ipod every 12 months? What about Dell, when they release a new computer?

Are these people completely unfamiliar with the concept of purchasing goods and services?

Does Ford owe you a coupon because the new Taurus comes with more trunk space, which your year-old model lacks? Give me a break.

Re:ok, so...

[The-Bus]

That's a terrible comparison. There's been a market agreement that as consoles age, there needs to be a price drop OR an improvement in the console, with improvements in the console (new NES design, Neo Geo CDZ, slim PS2, Nintendo's handhelds) usually coming much later in the console's life cycle, many times after there's been a price drop.

The problem here is that now Microsoft is actually making the PS3 look like a fantastic deal. The Elite is $20 less than the (now rare) 20GB PS3, which for those $20 more offers a Blu-Ray player. At the very extreme end of the comparison, you'd need an Elite ($479), an HD DVD player ($199), a USB card reader ($10), and the Xbox 360 Wifi dongle ($99) to emulate the $599 PS3. The PS3 owner could buy a game, another controller, and upgrade their hard drive to 250GB or more at the same price.

Spring after the first full calendar year of release is also the traditional time for price drops. Those are nowhere to be found.

And there's going to be another version of the Xbox when the new 65nm process comes in.

Microsoft, technically is not doing anything immoral. It's not even unethical. But what they're doing is creating distrust and dismay among its current customers. Why do you think Sony ran so many ads for the PS3 in 2006? It wasn't to advertise it. Everyone who was in the market for a console knew the PS3 was coming. They spent millions of dollars to make their current customers feel good about their purchase. Hey, you spent $700 to play an FPS and a port of an old Xbox 360 game. But don't worry, here's commercials showing how cool and hip you are.

I heard, at some point, that the Elite would lose its black color in a few months and go down to a $399 price and the current premium model would replace the core. This makes sense, but I don't know if its true.

To finalize my point, in your comment you refer to Ford. Last I checked, the only Ford models for sale now at 50% of the 2000 pricing are used models. Sony's silver PS2 is the equivalent of Ford cosmetically updating a 2000 Ford Taurus and offering it new at a price of $8,500.

Re:Early Adopters?

[dan828]

Seriously. For just about every piece of electronics gear that I've ever bought, the company I bought it from came out with a better model at a different price point after a while. What is there to bitch about here?

Not sure why there is so much...

[bealzabobs_youruncle]

crying about this? I just bought my 360 like 2.5 weeks ago but this doesn't bother me. The current Premium meets my gaming needs (and has plenty of hard drive space) and my Toshiba HD-DVD player and cable box handles the rest (and tie up both my HDMI ports). It is an option for new Xbox customers and by no means invalidates your current purchase.

This strikes me as more about being obsessed with always having the latest and greatest than a real issue, grow up...

Re:Early adaptor syndrome

[aphxtwn]

I bought a DS fat when it came out (I sold it a few months later, and I just recently picked up a DS lite). As an early adopter, I know I'm getting things before they're refined. Also, I know I might be getting a raw deal because of its newness. The main reason I do buy things before they're proven is to play with brand new stuff. I bought a PS3 shortly after its release knowing about all the issues they've had, just to check it out... and I had to have it sent in for servicing after it died. I also bought a 360 on the day of its release. I'm stuck with a 360 that sounds like an airplane taking off, but *shrugs*. I don't mind being an early adopter, but at the same time I don't expect a brand-spanking-new product to be as polished and as good as the same product a year or two after its initial release.

Re:Early Adopters?

[Anonymous Coward]

Name a situation where a game would REQUIRE an extra 80GB of disk space and HDMI? Guess what, it's not gonna happen. Nobody's gonna get left out in the cold.